Thuringia

Basic data:

State capital:	Erfurt
Year of foundation:	1990
Area:	16,172.10 km²
Population:	2,289,219 (December 31, 2007)

Universities:

Erfurt: University of Erfurt
Ilmenau: Ilmenau University of Technology
Jena: Friedrich Schiller University (FSU) Jena
Weimar: Bauhaus University Weimar

Geography:

Thuringia is in the middle of Germany. It borders on the states of Hesse (length of the border 270 km), Bavaria (381 km), Saxony (265 km), Saxony-Anhalt (296 km) and Lower Saxony (112 km). Like Saxony and parts of Saxony-Anhalt, the Free State of Thuringia belongs to the region of Central Germany.

Thuringia has very different landscapes, with the Harz mountains in the extreme north. To the south-east, the fertile valley of the Helme river joins an area known as the \"Goldene Aue\". Northwest is the Eichsfeld (a partially wooded hilly landscape).

In the middle of the state is the flat, extremely fertile Thuringian Basin, this region is one of the oldest cultural landscapes in Germany, the first settlements go back to the year 704. The Thuringian Basin is surrounded by several small mountain ranges, such as the Dün in the north-west, the Hainleite and the Windleite immediately to the north. Furthermore, the Kyffhäuser in the north, Schmücke, Hohe Schrecke and Finne in the north-east, the Ettersberg in the south-east, the Fahner Höhe in the south and the Hainich in the west. The only national park in the country is the Hainich.

South of the Thuringian Basin is the hilly foothills of the Thuringian Forest. Finally, as the largest mountain range in the state, the Thuringian Forest itself. To the east, this merges seamlessly into the Thuringian Slate Mountains, which in turn merges into the Franconian Forest to the southeast, which, however, is only in small parts in Thuringia. This low mountain range is crossed by the Rennsteig, the Kammweg, which represents the watershed between the Elbe in the north and the Weser or Rhine in the south. The Saale valley runs to the east of the forest and basin, beyond the Saale lies the Thuringian Holzland to the north, the Vogtland to the south and the Osterland to the east. In contrast to the former, the Osterland around Altenburg has little forest and is very fertile. Southwest of the Thuringian Forest lies the Werratal, followed by the Rhön in the west and the Grabfeld in the south.

The most important rivers in the country are the Werra in the west and the Saale in the east. Larger tributaries of the Saale are the Unstrut (with Gera), the Ilm and the Weiße Elster, and the Leine has its source in the north-west of the state.

The highest elevation in the state is the Great Beerberg in the Thuringian Forest at 983 meters, other high mountains are the Schneekopf (978 m), the Great Finsterberg (944 m) and the Inselsberg (916 m).

Climate:

Thuringia can be assigned to the temperate climate zone of Central Europe with prevailing westerly winds. Since there are already some protective low mountain ranges between the western seas and Thuringia, the climate is more continental than in western and northern Germany. The result is colder winters and drier summers than in other parts of Germany.

There are very large climatic differences within the Free State, with the Thuringian Basin in the middle of the state being particularly favoured. This is surrounded by mountains, which is why the lowest amounts of precipitation in Germany fall there. Straussfurt holds the record 242 mm annual precipitation in 1911.In the Thuringian Basin, there is normally 400 - 500 mm annual precipitation with an annual mean temperature of 8.5 °C. The hilly areas in the country have a climatically about the German average, so in Gera there is 624 mm of precipitation at a temperature of 8.7 °C. The mountain zones have an unfavorable climate, so an average of 1289 mm annual precipitation at a temperature of 4.4 °C is measured on the Schmücke. The January temperature here is -4 °C and the July temperature is 12.8 °C. In Artern on the northern edge of the Thuringian Basin, the values ​​are -0.7 °C in January and 17.6 °C in July.

history:

In the 3rd century, the Thuringian tribe was formed from parts of the Hermundurs, Turons, Warnen and Angles. They later founded a kingdom with a settlement focus in the Thuringian Basin along the Unstrut. The first documented mention of Thuringia under the name Thoringi by Sidonius Apollinaris dates back to the year 480.

In 531, the Franks, with the help of the Saxons, crushed the kingdom and incorporated the area west of the Saale into the Frankish kingdom. Around 620, the Merovingians founded the Duchy of Thuringia, which existed until the late 7th century. The first towns were also founded at this time, including Arnstadt in 704 and Erfurt in 742, and at the same time Bonifatius founded the bishopric of Erfurt.

The Ottonians made the area on the lower Unstrut between Naumburg and Sangerhausen a center of the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th century. However, Thuringia benefited little from this, since no strong tribal duchy of its own could form in the area. At that time, the County of Weimar was the greatest power in the Thuringia area, and it was only the Ludowingers who regained control of considerable parts of Thuringia. Ludwig the Springer had the Wartburg built in 1067, and his descendants were made Landgraves of Thuringia by Emperor Lothar von Supplinburg in 1131.

Under them, the region blossomed into a center of German culture in the High Middle Ages, and the landgrave family died out in 1247. The Thuringian-Hessian War of Succession then began, which ended in 1264 with the Wettins receiving large parts of the country and integrating them into their state. Thus began a rule of the Wettins over Thuringia that lasted almost 700 years. This only ended with the abolition of the monarchies in Germany in 1918. In the Thuringian War of Counts from 1342 - 1346, the Counts of Schwarzenburg, Weimar-Orlamünde and Hohnstein as well as the bailiffs of Weida tried to push back the supremacy of the Wettins, but this was unsuccessful.

In the course of the 12th century, land development in Thuringia was intensified and the first fortified towns, such as Mühlhausen or Saalfeld, were built. Erfurt was now approaching its heyday, in the 14th century the population reached a level of around 20,000. The city had 30 parish churches and monasteries, 2 mighty walls, a cathedral and St. Peter\'s Monastery. In 1392 the third university in Germany was founded in Erfurt. Erfurt\'s heyday ended at the beginning of the 16th century for economic and political reasons.

Dominant noble families in medieval Thuringia were the Wettins and the Ludowinger. After the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, only the Ernestines as descendants of the Wettins and the now princely Reussen and Schwarzburgers were able to secure their power in Thuringia. They ruled until the end of the monarchy in 1918. With the division of Leipzig in 1485, the Wettin lands were divided between the younger Albertines and the Ernestines. At the same time, the Ernestines took over the electoral dignity from the Wettins. At first the Ernestine ruled over large parts of Thuringia, only a small area along the Unstrut belonged to the Albertines.

The Reformation at the beginning of the 16th century put Thuringia at the center of German politics. Martin Luther first lived and studied at the University of Erfurt, then he wrote the Reformation in Wittenberg. The Saxon Elector Friedrich the Wise finally hid him in the Wartburg, where he translated the Bible into German. As a result of the Reformation, the Peasants\' War began in 1525, centered on Mühlhausen and Frankenhausen. The Schmalkaldic War between the Catholic Empire and Protestant princes began as a result. This ended in 1547 with the Wittenberg capitulation and a defeat of the Protestants, the Saxon electorate then passed to the Albertines. When the Hennebergers died out in 1583, a contract of inheritance came into force, through which the Ernestines acquired considerable property in southern Thuringia. The division of Erfurt in 1572 brought with it the continual fragmentation of the Ernestine possessions into numerous duchies and Thuringia sank into political insignificance. Then the time of humanism in Thuringia began, as a \"model state\" was Saxony-Gotha where Ernst the Pious reigned, who was the first head of state in the world to introduce compulsory schooling for children up to the age of 12.

It was only Duchess Anna Amalia and her son Carl August who drew attention to the region again in 1780 by inviting personalities such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller to their court. In this way, Weimar Classicism was able to establish itself there as the German version of the classical literary movement. At this time, a center of German philosophy was formed at the University of Jena, and Jena Romanticism was also style-defining for all of Germany at this time. Due to the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803, the Archdiocese of Mainz lost its areas around Erfurt and Eichsfeld, Mühlhausen and Nordhausen had to give up their independence and were finally assigned to Prussia at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach was also made the only grand duchy of Thuringia. During the Napoleonic period, the decisive battle between the French and Prussians in Thuringia was announced, on October 9th, 1806 the Battle of Schleiz took place. This was followed by the battle near Saalfeld and the decisive battle near Jena and Auerstedt on October 14, 1806, which Prussia lost.

At the Erfurt Congress of Princes between France and Russia in 1808, Goethe met Napoleon and the first resistance groups against French rule formed. The University of Jena provided the impetus. After Napoleonic rule came to an end, the original fraternity was formed in Jena in 1815. The first liberal constitutions were also created at this time. This early phase of liberalism came to an end after the Carlsbad Decrees were enforced in Thuringia in 1819.

The cultural heyday of Thuringia continued, among other things, the General German Educational Institute was established in Rudolstadt in 1817 and the first German kindergarten was founded in Bad Blankenburg in 1840. Both institutions were created under the educator Friedrich Fröbel. Ernst-Wilhelm Arnoldi founded the German insurance system (Gothaer Versicherung) in 1820, followed in 1826 by the founding of the Bibliographic Institute by Joseph Meyer. Between 1811 and 1818 the Bibliographic Institute & F.A. Brockhaus is based in Altenburg, the first Duden was published in Schleiz in 1872. Furthermore, Weimar experienced a renaissance in its \"Silver Age\", well-known musicians (including Franz Liszt) came to the court, and from 1860 the Weimar school of painting established itself in German painting.

The Customs and Trade Association of the Thuringian States, founded in 1833, inspired the industrial revolution in the state, the first railway line reached Thuringia in 1842, and in 1846 the Thuringian Railway opened the country\'s main railway line.The East Thuringian textile industry around Gera experienced an upswing, as did the metal industry scattered throughout the state and the optical industry in Jena.

The revolution in Thuringia in 1848 was rather unspectacular, with centers in Eichsfeld and Reuss. The result was the abdication of Duke Joseph of Saxe-Altenburg and Prince Heinrich LXXII. from Reuss-Ebersdorf. The desire for a unified German state was still present, so that the Erfurt Union Parliament was convened in 1850, but this was unsuccessful.

During the war between Prussia and Austria in 1866, most Thuringian states sided with Prussia, only Sachsen-Meininger and Reuss (elder line) were allied with Austria. Bismarck therefore wanted to incorporate the two states into the Kingdom of Prussia after the end of the war. However, due to the intervention of Grand Duke Carl August von Weimar (brother-in-law of the Prussian king), this was not done, only the rulers of the two states were deposed.

Industrialization made Thuringia the cradle of social democracy, and August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht founded the Social Democratic Workers\' Party in Eisenach in 1869. This merged in 1875 in Gotha with the General German Workers\' Association to form the SPD, the Gotha program and the Erfurt program then set the goals of social democratic politics in Germany.

The November Revolution, which followed World War I, had its center in Thuringia under the leader of the revolution, Wilhelm Bock, in the Free State of Saxony-Gotha. The USPD was founded in Gotha on April 8, 1917. First, the 8 monarchs of Thuringia abdicated between November 9th and 25th, 1917, and a communist council was formed in the Free State of Saxe-Gotha. By 1920, Saxony-Gotha was involved in political disputes, and conditions similar to civil war also prevailed. The Mechterstädt murders of 1920 deserve special mention here. In 1919, the Weimar Constitution was drawn up in Weimar and put into effect as the first democratic constitution for all of Germany.

After the abdication of the monarchs, nothing stood in the way of founding a unified state in Thuringia, and the state of Thuringia was founded on May 1, 1920. Political and cultural turmoil shaped the development of the young country, which led to the strengthening of political extremists, and society was also divided. Adolf Hitler was not banned from speaking in Thuringia at the time, which is why he was able to hold rallies in Weimar again and again in the 1920s.

A state government of SPD and KPD was formed in 1923, which led to Red October in Saxony and Thuringia. The occupation of both countries with the Reich execution took place on October 29, 1923 in Saxony and on November 6, 1923 in Thuringia. In order to depose the government, the Reich\'s defense marched in, which also led to success. The subsequent vote of no confidence by the SPD in the Reichtag brought about the overthrow of Gustav Stresemann as Reich Chancellor. The 1920s were characterized by political standstill and frequently changing state governments. Around 1930, the Baum-Frick government was established as the first state government in Germany, in which the NSDAP was involved. After the Nazis seized power, Thuringia was brought into line and thus effectively abolished. During the National Socialist period of government there were 2 concentration camps in Thuringia, the Buchenwald concentration camp (Weimar) and the Dora Mittelbau concentration camp (Nordhausen).

The Second World War brought moderate damage to Thuringia, only Nordhausen was almost completely destroyed as a result of British air raids in April 1945, almost 8,800 people lost their lives. Air raids also caused damage in Erfurt, Gera, Jena, Weimar, Eisenbach and other smaller towns. Between April 1st and April 16th, 1945 Thuringia was liberated by the Americans and on April 1st07.1945 handed over to the Soviet military administration. Thuringia was restored as a state and expanded to include the previously Prussian administrative district of Erfurt. In 1952 it was dissolved by the GDR government, followed by the district of Erfurt, the district of Gera and the district of Suhl.

Approximately 24,000 workers, mostly in the industrial centers of Erfurt, Jena and Gera, took part in the Volkskauf stand on June 17, 1953. Thuringia was hit particularly hard by the increased security of the borders between the GDR and the FRG that began on August 13, 1961. Some villages in the border area were forcibly resettled and demolished, others were divided by walls. Some families were also relocated by the Stasi as part of the vermin campaign.

On March 19, 1970, Willy Brandt and Willi Stoph met for the first time at the Erfurt Summit in the Erfurter Hof. Mass demonstrations against the SED regime also began in Thuringia in the fall of 1989, which then spread to all cities in the state. In the course of German reunification on October 3, 1990, the Free State of Thuringia was re-established, consisting of the districts of Erfurt, Gera and Suhl and parts of the districts of Leipzig and Halle. On January 10, 1991, the state parliament decided in favor of Erfurt as the state capital of Thuringia. The state constitution was passed by the state parliament on October 25, 1993 at the Wartburg and came into force on October 16, 1994.

The CDU has governed since the first state elections on October 14, 1990 (from 1990 to 1994 in a coalition with the FDP), initially under Prime Minister J. Duchac, since February 1992 under B. Vogel (both CDU). In the state elections on October 16, 1994, the CDU became the strongest party again, followed by the SPD and the PDS. Prime Minister Vogel was confirmed in office and formed a grand coalition with the SPD. After the state elections of September 12, 1999, the CDU (after achieving an absolute majority) under Prime Minister Vogel alone took over government responsibility, the PDS became the second strongest party for the first time. Vogel announced his resignation in early June 2003; his successor was D. Althaus (also CDU), who was able to secure the absolute majority (of mandates) for the CDU in the state elections of June 13, 2004 and thus the continued sole government.

Economy:

Industrial production, agriculture and tourism are particularly important for Thuringia\'s economy. Industry is mainly located in the southern Thuringian Basin along the Eisenach-Gotha-Erfurt-Weimar city line, further on the edges and in the foreland of the Thuringian Forest and in the valleys of Saale and Weißer Elster.

The food and beverage industry has the highest turnover, followed by road vehicle construction, the manufacture of metal products, electrical engineering and the manufacture of rubber and plastic goods. Small iron and tool production, the electronics industry and equipment construction in Jena, the pharmaceutical industry, furniture construction and the toy industry are also important.

Thuringia has potash salt deposits and rich building materials such as limestone and sandstone. Of the extensive potash mining, only one potash shaft in Unterbreizbach remained in operation, the rest of the potash mining was discontinued, such as uranium ore mining and ore mining, as was the mining of lignite. There are slate quarries in the Probstzella-Lehesten-Wurzbach area.

The main areas of arable farming (sugar beet, wheat and barley) are the Thuringian Basin, the Orlasenke, the Goldene Aue and the area south of Altenburg. Less fertile areas are used for growing potatoes, oats and rye. Tobacco is also grown in the lower Eichsfeld and Werra area. Grassland use and forestry take place in the Thuringian Forest, Thuringian Slate Mountains and Harz Mountains. In the valleys of the Saale and Weißer Elster as well as on the edge of the Kyffhäuser, fruit and vegetables are grown on a larger scale, and around Erfurt there is vegetable and floriculture.

Important tourist areas are the Thuringian Forest, the Thuringian Slate Mountains (Schwarzatal) and the southern Harz Mountains. The Thuringian Forest is important for winter sports. Thuringia has important health resorts such as Bad Liebenstein, Bad Berka, Bad Sulza and Bad Langensalza.

The central location makes Thuringia an important transit country for West-East and North-South traffic. After German unity was regained, the partially interrupted railway, motorway and road connections to Hesse and Bavaria were reestablished (Werratalbahn between Bad Salzungen and Gerstungen). The southern Harz motorway Halle (Saale)-Göttingen is under construction, the Thuringian Forest motorway Erfurt-Schweinfurt/Suhl-Lichtenfels (a 7.9 km long car tunnel between Zella-Mehlis and Oberhof) was completed in 2005. The most important railway junction is Erfurt, where there is also an international airport.